Top 10 RBs of All Time

[gibbsisgod]

and in emmitts defense, he was one tough son of a bitch! he would play hurt and still get his yards so i do believe he should be in the top ten but not top 5

[jermus22]

Anybody got Priest Holmes on their list? He did get the TD rushing record not too long ago. Guys like him and Terrell Davis were incredible for a few years before injuries took there toll.

[MTK]

Priest is right on the cusp, but he would need at least 3-5 more really productive seasons to be mentioned in the top backs of all-time. He's just over the 8,000 yard mark.

[redsk1]

Barry Sanders is my #1. Unbelievable to watch and played for bad teams.

[gibbsisgod]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Priest is right on the cusp, but he would need at least 3-5 more really productive seasons to be mentioned in the top backs of all-time. He's just over the 8,000 yard mark.

he is probably the best undrafted back

[saden1]

Barry Sanders in #1 hands down. I mean come on, the guy averaged 1527 yards per season and his worst season was an 1115 yard season where he only played 11 games. Not only that but for every hard he had he must have ran 3 more yards just to get that yard. Not only is Barry Sanders the best RB of all time, he is the best football player of all time.

[5RINGS]

Originally Posted by saden1

Barry Sanders in #1 hands down. I mean come on, the guy averaged 1527 yards per season and his worst season was an 1115 yard season where he only played 11 games. Not only that but for every hard he had he must have ran 3 more yards just to get that yard. Not only is Barry Sanders the best RB of all time, he is the best football player of all time.

I liked watching Barry run also.

What about all the negative yards?


To me Jim Brown is another anomaly in that he was the first of that size/weight/speed/agility combo to play RB for a Long time. Every highlight I see of him has guys falling off his back/Knees etc. Makes me wonder about the level of Competition then. Do you EVER see four or five guys falling off the back of an RB today? In the last 20 years? 30 Years?

I think Payton is #1.

[Riggo44]

1. Barry Sanders
2. Walter Payton
3. Jim Brown
4. Gayle Sayers
5. Eric Dickerson
6. Marshall Faulk
7. Emmit Smith
8. Marcus Allen
9. John Riggins
10.The Murderer

If Bo Jackson had played longer I'm sure he'd be on my list. He was one of the best RB I've ever seen. Portis,James and L.T are on there way as well.

[gibbsisgod]

Originally Posted by 5RINGS

I liked watching Barry run also.

What about all the negative yards?


To me Jim Brown is another anomaly in that he was the first of that size/weight/speed/agility combo to play RB for a Long time. Every highlight I see of him has guys falling off his back/Knees etc. Makes me wonder about the level of Competition then. Do you EVER see four or five guys falling off the back of an RB today? In the last 20 years? 30 Years?

I think Payton is #1.

all the negative yards were a result of him having to do it ALL himself. nobody can argue taht if he didnt get it done there was nobody else that could.

[dmek25]

1.jim brown
2.walter payton
3.emmitt smith
4.eric dickerson
5.john riggins
ill do 6-10 later, its my dinner time

[gibbsisgod]

Originally Posted by dmek25

1.jim brown
2.walter payton
3.emmitt smith
4.eric dickerson
5.john riggins
ill do 6-10 later, its my dinner time

and what are we having for dinner tonight?

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by scowan

It's funny to me that many of you don't have Emmitt Smith anywhere on your list, or not in the top 5 and he is the all time Rushing Yardage leader. I bet the same poll on a Cowboys site would have Emmitt number 1 on every list. Are we all that bias against the Cowboys? Just wondering.

At 7, I put him as high as I possibly could. Eric Dickerson didn't make my top 10, so it goes to show the level of respect I have for #1-6 on my list.

[mheisig]

Not to hijack the rankings, but I was just watching highlights of Barry Sanders and Walter Payton on youtube.com, and I can never get over how freakin' amazing those two guys are. It's like they're just inhuman or from another world.

This is just my non-professional analysis, but comparing their runnings styles it's hard to say who's better from an athletic standpoint, but it seems to me lik Payton runs with sort of a reckless abandon kind of style. He's amazing, but just like he's so fast and strong and agile that he's just everywhere. Sanders on the other hand seems SO controlled - like every movement is a controlled, planned movement that he thought about and practiced for years.

Regardless, they're both just incredible - if you're ever board, hit up youtube.com for some good classic RB entertainment.

It sounds like I'm going gay, but watching Sanders' legs move just never gets old - that guy is from another planet or something.

[Longtimefan]

Man this is going to be difficult. To name only ten of all the great backs I've witnessed play is going to due someone injustice, but here go:

Marcus Allen
Jim Brown
Earl Campbell
Erick Dickerson
Tony Dorsett
Leroy Kelly
Walter Peyton
Barry Sanders
OJ Simpson
Emmitt Smith

I would be hard pressed not to mention Franco Harris, Lenny Moore, Paul Hornung, and Gale Sayers though he had a relatively short career. Top twenty would have been better since there has been so many excellent RB's in the history of the NFL. I don't want to neglect our own John Riggins.

[steveo395]

1. Barry Sanders
2. Walter Payton
3. Jim Brown
4. Tony Dorsett
5. Emmitt Smith
6. Eric Dickerson
7. Curtis Martin
8. Jerome Bettis
9. Marshall Faulk
10. Thurman Thomas